Fact or fiction: is lip balm really addictive?

The dry lip season has started again and you can tell. My lips are once again full of flakes and I personally don't find that charming at all. Fortunately, there are plenty of balms that help, but don't your lips get addicted to them? And wouldn't it be better not to apply anything or is petroleum jelly the solution? I've gathered some facts and myths for you, along with the editorial team's favorite lip balms. Here they come.

Fact.
The stratum corneum prevents your skin from drying out, but this layer is much thinner on your lips than on the rest of your face, causing your lips to dry out faster. When your lips feel dry, you tend to hydrate them with saliva, but you better not do that. This actually causes your lips to dry out even more. So if you have flakes, apply balm and don't lick them.

Fact.
If your skin is really very dry and damaged petroleum jelly as a protective layer is a good solution. The ingredient petrolatum (petroleum jelly) is the champion for introducing and retaining moisture, but also: mineral oil (paraffinum liquidum), a vegetable oil (oils), a butter (butters) or wax (wax) are good ingredients. So petroleum jelly is not the culprit for the extra drying of your lips and is harmless.

Myth.
No, a lip balm is not addictive. The sebum production in your lips may be slowed down if you use it often, but there are no addictive ingredients in a balm like nicotine. That is addictive, but I don't know of any balm with that ingredient, do you? If you stop applying it, it may take a while for your lips to return to normal, but make sure not to wet your lips with saliva as that will cause extra drying again.

Fact.
Your lip balm has an expiration date and that is important. Bacteria accumulate faster due to dirt and water, so if your favorite lip balm comes from a jar that you rub your fingers over, you should use it up quickly. If you use a lip balm in the form of a stick, you can use it longer, as long as it doesn't come into contact with water. Brrr.. I don't even want to think about how disgusting it actually is when your jar is almost empty. How many bacteria have gathered in there? Throw it away quickly and switch to a stick. If you prefer to go for such an item: definitely buy a new one after a year, then you're good to go.

Fact.
You also need to protect your lips from UV to prevent fine lines and skin cancer, and many lip balms do not contain protection. So check the front of the packaging to see if there is a protective factor in it. If you really want to do it right, use a mineral filter, as a chemical variant can cause irritation. You check this by seeing if it contains zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide.

Myth.
A lip balm with a lot of nourishing ingredients is the best. That is not the case, you better choose one with as few ingredients as possible to prevent irritation or an allergic reaction.

Fact
Some lip balms can indeed make your lips drier, especially one with little fat. If you notice that it absorbs quickly or is very liquid, there is a good chance that it does not hydrate your lips well.

Want to get started yourself? There are many recipes to be found online, but Jetske Ultee has a very easy and nice recipe:

30 grams of Shea butter
10 grams of coconut oil
10 grams of beeswax.

1. Gather all the ingredients in a bowl or dish and heat it in a bain-marie. Stir gently with a spoon and wait until it is completely melted.
2. Once melted, remove the pot from the heat source and keep stirring until it has mostly cooled down; if you don't do this, there is a chance that grains will form and you don't want that.
3. As soon as it is a nice, still somewhat liquid mixture, you can pour it into containers. Ideal are those transparent travel containers with a lid that you can shop for at the drugstore.
4. Voila, your lip balm is made.

Prefer shopping? Then these are our favorites:

1. Lip balm SPF 50, €12,- Paula’s Choice
2. Original Lip Balm, €2.15 Vaseline
3. Lip & Body Balm, €15,- €12.75 Paula’s Choice
4. Rosebud Salve Tube, €9.95 Smits Rosebud
5. Eight Hour Skin Protectant Cream, €20,- Elizabeth Arden
6. Hyaluronic Acid + Peptide Lip Booster, €27,- Paula’s Choice
7. Unscented Lip Balm, €4.99 Hurraw
8. Lip Moisturizer, €15,- Malin+Goetz

Source: AD and Jetske Ultee | Image: @haileybieber